ROBERT KEOHANE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DISCIPLINE: RESEARCH PROGRAMME, STATE AND INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 16 Sayı: 2, 159 - 179, 25.12.2025

Ali Ercan Su

Öz

Robert Keohane is one of the most important scholars of international relations discipline in terms of his contributions into the discipline through theoretical and conceptual contributions. In terms of the research programme, Keohane adopts rationalism and positivism. He thinks that reason with positivist research methods produces regular patterns in social science and in specific in IR and he expresses honestly in his works from the beginning what research programmes adopt. He brings severe criticisms against the new research programmes in IR, which he calls reflectivism. His views on state is very clear. Even though he is pioneer in bringing new actors to the IR in 1970s, he places state to the top and his explanations and analysis are centred on the state. More importantly, he considers domestic political system is important for change and cooperation in the international politics. However, he fails to analyse domestic politics. His international system is enlarged version of Kenneth Waltz’s international system. Keohane adds international regimes and existence of hegemon to Waltz’s system. In fact, he chooses to remain in the area of the realist school, focusing on the state and anarchy in the international politics apart from dependent on only positivist methods. Lastly, as Robert Cox put it rightly: “Theory is always for someone for some purpose”, Keohane’s efforts in IR aims to find alternative paths to political and economic order after the United States of America’s hegemony ends.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Institutionalist Neoliberal Theory , Rationalism , Positivism , International Institutions , International Regimes , Transnational Relations , Complex Interdependence.

Kaynakça

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